Thursday, April 1, 2010

Black Vintage Friday on a Spring Day

A Vintage Black Friday in the first days of Spring.....doesn't sound quite right. We should be showing yellows, pinks, reds, and purples. You know, the colors of all the flowers just waiting to pop up in my yard. So I thought why not display a little something from France, of course to be fashionable, but also what better place to be than Springtime in Paris? Okay, that is a stretch for a tie-in, but please let me show you what I have.

A few years ago, I received some black glass dishes from my cousin Phil. He is actually my father's cousin and is in his 80's. These dishes had belonged to their aunt. It wasn't a full set, in fact there were two distinct sets being represented but all tied together by the solid color of the glass.


I have a stack of dinner and salad plates with an ornate edge, but no markings on the underside of the plates except what looks like a consistent 2 inch scratch in the center.

Then I have these 8 sided plates (both salad and dinner size - the photo shows the smaller size), 3 originally from my cousin, 8 more from Goodwill with yellow tag of $.59 and 7 with red tag at $.99 cents but 50% off that price. The dishes were found at two different GW's. These are all marked with FRANCE; however, some list a number right next to the letters while the rest have a number listed on the direct opposite side. Even though the plates are identical the numbers range from 4, 12, 15, 13, 17, 37, 47, 57, 55 and even 07 and 014.


These two creamers best represent the characteristics of each set of dishes, one is 8 sided and the other has the ornate edge. Again, both are solid black glass. The octagon creamer is also marked FRANCE with the number 13 but also a N5. It is my only FRANCE piece that includes a letter/number combo in addition to the marked number.

This photo shows 5 candy dishes/bowls all with similar shaped handles. The top row of three have identical handles with each handle displaying a three circle design. The bowl on the bottom right is marked with the letter C inside a small triangle.

Along with the assortment of plates, cups, saucers, and candy dishes, my cousin gave me an Elephant Ashtray, the larger of the 2 shown below. Again it has a center 2 inch scratch on the bottom as its only mark. Last summer, while looking through the craft section at Goodwill, I found a smaller but identical ashtray for $1.99, also with the scratch mark. As soon as I turned the corner of the aisle, I immediately spied it on the shelf next to some lime green balls of yarn. I was very careful not to knock down the lady standing there as I reached over to grab the piece. Luckily I do have long arms, even more lucky, she had only wanted the lime green yarn. To each their own tastes.

So these are my Vintage Black Treasures for today. Other than having either a specific looking center scratch or the word FRANCE with various numbers, I have no other information about these plates. Obviously, the ones from my cousin are old; however, I am not sure if the pieces I have found are also old or reproduction pieces. Any help would be appreciated. Even if I remain clueless as to their origin, it will be as the French say "
C'est la vie". They are family pieces and will always be special to me.

*****UPDATE Linda of A La Carte has come to my rescue with information as to my dishes origin. The scalloped design is black-amethyst Depression Glass produced in the 1920's by L.E. Smith Co. Apparently, the company was founded in 1907 by Lewis E. Smith, a sometimes employed chef with a special mustard sauce recipe. The original purpose of the company was to manufacture glass containers for the sauce. To read more about the history of L.E. Smith company and to see better photos of the dishes, please click here. Thank you Linda for your assistance. It really is more fun when you know about a piece. To visit the ever knowledgeable Linda and her lovely Blog, please click here.

Please be sure to visit our lovely hostess Jill of Gypsy Brocante at the French Cupboard and all the other participants for today's Black Vintage Friday party. Please click here to see the list.

Also a quick reminder that my giveaway ends on April 10
th. Please click here for details.

Wishing you all a lovely Easter. Have a good day.
Sherrie

14 comments:

Tiff said...

Hi Sherri!
Are you up for a yardsale early tomorrow morning? Let me know, and I can pick you up around 7:40 or so.I saw it listed on craigslist and it says antiques and furniture and dishes and stuff.

tcupps@gmail.com

Tiff

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Oh I am so excited about your black dishes. The ornate ones are depression glass and it looks like the pattern Mt Pleasant which is one of my favorites. Check it out here

http://www.ndga.net/articles/trietschmtpleasant.php

Would love to know if it is this pattern.

Linda @ A La Carte

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I looked for info on your other dishes and I think they are Arcoroc
check it out here

http://www.blujay.com/item/OCTAGON-BLACK-AMETHYST-GLASS-DISHES-BOWLS-FRANCE-ARCOROC-28040304-3193953

Good luck. All your dishes are great!

Linda @ A La Carte

Debra@CommonGround said...

Hi Sherrie, love those dishes. I had a set of mugs, but silly me, I sold them at my space. Have a wonderful Easter weekend!
Debra

Marigene said...

Sherrie, I know nothing of either of the dishes, but they sure are pretty. Just think of all the colors you could mix and match with them for beautiful tablescapes!

mimi said...

Oh Sherrie your dishes are lovely!! I have never seen black glass like that. I popped into our Goodwill the other day but sadly did not find any treasures on that visit. Oh well if at first you don't succeed try try again---that is the fun of the hunt :)
Have a Blessed Easter
Mimi~

Rustique Gal said...

Hi Sherrie,
These black dishes are ingriguing! It's fun to find out the history of them too. I used to have a lovely set of black stemware that had cost so much I was afraid to use it. I sold it all for 75 dollars! Now I have cheap cobalt blue and I use it all the time. Happy yard saling!
Sherry

Linda @ A La Carte said...

So glad you confirmed the pattern on the older dishes. It is more fun when you know what you have. I have a few pieces of it in Cobalt.

Linda @ A La Carte

evision said...

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Sandi~A Cottage Muse said...

What lovely dishes! Pair them with white or even pink! Ooh La La!

V I N T A G E O L O G I E said...

How interesting ... I've learned a lot from your post, thank you! Your dish collection is spectacular ... so different and ooh-la-la French!

Thanks again for a little taste of Paris in the Springtime ... Ahhhh ; )

xo
Jill

BonjourRomance said...

Bonjour Sherrie,
Sorry I came kind of late. I think Linda is a gem to find out all this info so quickly. What a great story behind both sets of these black dishes. They really are so unique. If you ever need any info from me don't hesitate to let me know - also my email is on my profile page.
Enjoy these fabulou dishes,
Mimi

Oakland Daily Photo said...

The bowl with the C in a triangle was made by the Cambridge Glass Company. Most Cambridge pieces are not marked, so one more piece of good luck for you.
Carolyn

Oakland Daily Photo said...

Just double checked and it turns out your elephant ashtrays are also L.E. Smith. My source book says that were actually made by the Greensburg
Glass Works but that Smith acquired it. They date from late 20s to early 30s. What a wonderful find.